Editorial Standards & Ethics

What these standards are for

These are the rules Cumbernauld Media works to, written down so readers can hold us to them. They apply to all ten desks: world news, business, technology, science, sports, entertainment, lifestyle, travel, auto and gaming. A gaming story and an election story are held to the same standard of accuracy, sourcing and fairness. The subjects differ; the discipline does not.

Accuracy comes first

We publish what we can verify. Every fact in a story should be traceable to a document, a record, a direct observation or a named or identified source, and the story should tell the reader which. A claim we could not verify is either left out or presented as an unverified claim, using that word. Being first is worth something; being right is worth more, and when the two conflict we hold the story. The fact-checking policy describes how verification works in practice.

Independence

No advertiser, sponsor, club, league, studio, label, manufacturer, airline, tourism board, government, party or campaign influences what we cover or how. Advertising is served through a network, and no advertiser’s identity is part of editorial planning. Nobody outside the newsroom sees a story before it is published. We accept no payment for coverage, no payment to withhold coverage, no payment to place or remove a link, and no gifts of more than nominal value from anyone we cover. Travel and access for reporting are paid for by us; where a story could not have been done without an organisation’s assistance, the story says so.

Sourcing and attribution

Sources are named whenever possible. When we quote a person, we say who they are and in what capacity they spoke. When we rely on a document, we identify it well enough for a reader to find it. Phrases such as ‘sources say’ or ‘it is understood’ without further identification are not acceptable attribution on this site. A business story names the filing and the period; a science story names the paper and the journal; a sports story names the official record; a travel story names the carrier’s published rule.

Anonymous sources

Anonymous sources are used only when the information matters, cannot be obtained on the record, and the source has a real reason to fear the consequences of being named. An editor must know the source’s identity and approve the use. The story explains why the source is not named and what position they are in to know what they claim. Anonymity is never granted to let someone attack another person or organisation without accountability, and it is never granted to an organisation’s own communications staff to spin their own announcement.

Fairness

People and organisations criticised in a story are given a genuine chance to respond before publication, with enough detail about the allegation and enough time to answer it. The response is reported fairly and prominently, not buried. Where someone declines to comment, we say so. Where we could not reach them, we say what we tried. Fairness does not mean false balance: a claim contradicted by the evidence is reported as contradicted, not as one of two equal views.

Review units, tickets, trips and embargoes

Devices, vehicles, games and software loaned for review are returned or, where the maker does not want them back, disposed of without personal benefit to the reviewer. Press tickets, screenings, hosted trips and early access are accepted only where the story could not otherwise be done, and the piece says so. A loan or an invitation does not buy a verdict. A review states whether the product was bought, borrowed or supplied and for how long it was used, and a travel piece states who paid.

Embargoes are agreements about timing and nothing else. We honour an embargo we have agreed to, and we agree to one only when the terms are written down in advance. An embargo does not restrict what we say, whom we ask, or whether we report information obtained independently. Briefings offered on the condition that we cannot disclose that they took place are declined.

Personal interests

People who write or edit business coverage do not trade in the securities, tokens or private companies they cover, and they disclose their holdings to an editor. People who write about sports do not bet on the competitions they cover. Nobody writes about a company, club, studio or organisation in which they, their household or their close family hold a position or a role that the story could affect. Nobody acts on information obtained through reporting before it is published, and nobody shares it with anyone who might.

Opinion, analysis and reviews

News stories report; they do not argue. Where we publish opinion, analysis or a review, it is labelled and the label is visible, and the piece is kept separate from news coverage of the same subject. Analysis is the reasoned view of the writer and is not a recommendation to buy, sell, book, bet or hold anything. Reviews state the reviewer’s basis: what was tested or watched or played, under what conditions, for how long, and what it was compared with.

Headlines, images and captions

A headline must be supported by the story beneath it. It may not promise more than the story delivers, imply a conclusion the story does not reach, or state as fact something the story attributes. An organisation’s claim in a headline is marked as a claim. Images must show what the caption says they show. File photographs, stock images, renderings, screenshots and illustrations are identified as such. We do not alter news photographs beyond routine cropping and exposure adjustment, and we do not create synthetic images of real events or real people and present them as photographs.

Plagiarism and originality

We do not present other people’s work as our own. Reporting that originated elsewhere is credited to its origin. A reworded version of someone else’s exclusive is still someone else’s exclusive. Quotations are exact; where we tidy grammar in a spoken quote, we do not change meaning, and where we cut, we mark it.

Conflicts of interest

Staff and contributors disclose to an editor any financial interest, employment history, family relationship, advisory role, political involvement, club membership or business connection that touches a story they are working on, and they do not cover subjects where such a conflict exists. Staff do not consult for, hold options in, or take speaking fees from organisations the desks cover. Where a connection is unavoidable, the story discloses it.

Errors and accountability

We correct errors openly under the corrections policy. Readers who believe we have breached these standards can write to support@cumbernauld-media.com; complaints are read by an editor not involved in the story and are answered in writing. These standards are reviewed when the corrections log or a complaint shows they need to be, and changes are published on this page.

Last updated: September 2026